It's Raining Men
by hellosweetie17
Summary: On her way to meet two best friends for yet another double date, Grelle gets caught up in a nasty storm, only to be saved by a handsome stranger.


"Ronnie and I are waiting for you, we are!" exclaimed Mey-Rin, fussing with her large, round glasses. She crossed her legs beneath the cafe table and forcibly hit her knee on the underside; teacups haphazardly rattled on their saucers, tipping and spilling the warm brew onto the wooden tabletop. "Eek!" she squeaked into the mobile. She set the phone aside and picked up a napkin, hastily patting away the pooling liquid.

The redhead winced at the shriek on the other end of the line. "Are you alright, darling?"

"We're fine!" called out Ronald, laughing softly. He reached over to an empty table and grabbed a handful of napkins from the holder, using them to assist his clumsy lover with the clean up. "Just Mey-Rin being Mey-Rin," he added, rolling the soiled napkins into a ball and setting it off to the side. He placed a playful kiss against the young woman's flushed cheek.

"Oh hush, Ronnie," she chided, blushing an impressive shade of scarlet—the color deepening when the blond flirtatiously winked at her. She picked up the phone and pressed it against her ear. "Are you on your way?"

"I'm locking the door behind me," Grelle lied. She stood in front of her mirror, giving herself a final once over as she scanned her tall frame head to toe; twisting around to examine the shape of her rump in the pants she had selected from the private fashion show in her room.

Knox groaned, tilting his head back. "I'm hungry," he whined in a drawl, ducking to avoid the smack to the back of his head from Mey-Rin's hand.

"William isn't here yet," the bespectacled woman reported, her shrill voice drowning out her boyfriend's complaints. "So you best hurry before he gets here!"

"I'll see you soon!" Sutcliff promised, ending the call as she walked out of the bedroom toward the front door. With one last glance in the foyer mirror, she reached for a long red coat from a peg on the wall and slipped it on. She tucked her mobile into its inner pocket, then grabbed her hand bag as well as an umbrella before heading out the apartment to meet this oh-so-mysterious William T. Spears.

* * *

Each step down the sidewalk turned into a slight skip. Despite the overcast weather, it was a beautiful day to meet someone new. After all of the talk about this William T. Spears, she began to wonder what he would be like in person. Ronald talked him up quite a bit, making it difficult not to imagine a grand scenario of the man. Although he tried to warn her about his rather serious personality, she resolved to think of it as a cool, calm, and collected persona. There had to be something much deeper underneath the surface, right?

Lost in thought, Grelle was interrupted by the sensation of her mobile device vibrating against her torso—an instinctive smile stretching across her face. Could it be that William arrived before she did? She hoped so! To be early was a sign of eagerness and excitement, or so she thought. It would feel nice to be the subject of happiness for a change after her streak of terrible blind dates. Coming to a brief stop, she quickly slid the strap of her umbrella around her wrist and used the freed hand to retrieve the mobile, unlocking it without second thought.

The grin in her mouth faltered as fast as it had appeared. A new message from Mey-Rin was highlighted across the screen, the first few words enough to earn a scowl as she opened it.

" _William told Ronnie he had to cancel! I'm sorry, Grelle! Say you'll still eat lunch with us, say you will!_ "

Grelle stared down at the screen, gripping her phone tightly while she carefully chose her words. Still, her red nails tapped furiously on the screen as she typed faster than the speed of light; steam could have risen from the hastened motion if she weren't careful enough.

" _Of course I'll be there, darling. But if I don't show up, I ran into a positively gorgeous man along the way! xoxo._ "

Send, she tapped after deleting the previous monologue she scripted.

Putting her mobile away, the redhead's scowl deepened and she stared off into the distance, absently watching pedestrians on the opposite side of the sidewalk. She couldn't believe it, she had been stood up again. _Again_. Again! What was it with men and their need to cancel at the last minute? How could this happen again? Again. Who do they think they are? The nerve! The audacity these men seemed to possess.

Heaving a sigh, Grelle stopped at the street corner just before the crosswalk and looked up at the digital sign. The little red man appeared, telling citizens to stay put and not cross the street. At least _he_ was reliable, she thought, impatiently tapping her toe as she willed the little man to turn green. Certainly, he wouldn't start letting her down now.

Whilst waiting for permission to safely continue her journey to the cafe, she went on a silent tirade with the fresh emotions of being stood up (again). Grumbling to herself, she swore to avoid the lesser species from here on out. It was the only way to spare herself from the humiliation and to avoid being taken advantage of. She was so caught up in the internal rant, she failed to notice the giant puddle alongside the corner where she stood—until a white taxi drove by. It whizzed through the puddle and splashed the cold, dirty water in to the air, drenching her from her perfectly sleek red locks down to her shiny boots. The surprise of the impact nearly sent her tumbling to the cold cement.

 _The universe had to be joking, right? It was nothing, but a cosmic joke on Grelle Sutcliff and no one else._

The woman stepped back from the curb, throwing her hands down at her sides. "Are you kidding me?!" she sputtered, coughing out the bit of water that found its way into her mouth. Her outburst was rewarded by pitying looks from nearby onlookers. She ignored their stares and smoothed down her ruined outfit, pushing aside the red tendrils from her face. She flushed bright red; the embarrassing heat scorched her damp skin.

Not only had she been stood up (again), she was now soaking wet. What more could go wrong?

As soon as the thought blossomed, the sky above rumbled with a deep roar of thunder before glowing with a flash of lightning, followed by another clap of thunder. Sheets of heavy rain poured down on to the unfortunate woman. Luckily, she was wise enough to grab an umbrella before she exited the apartment. At least she had that going for her.

Frowning, she continued to grumble and held the handle of the umbrella, pressing down on the button to release the shield. Instead of opening out to protect her, it launched from the metal stick and shot across the pavement, landing in the center of the road in the crosswalk. All she could do was stand and watch it fly from her, bits of water flying off of it in slow-motion as if it were a ballet.

Apparently, the universe wasn't through with her yet.

"What the hell!" Stomping, she grimaced at the heavy drops of water landing on top of her head and broad shoulders. Whatever curse words of white-hot rage flying past her lips were muted by the downpour.

On the pole, the little man finally decided to turn green and she looked up at him, furious with him. However, she remained where she was, whimpering in frustration and defeat.

After minutes of standing in the storm, a chill ran down Grelle's body and she visibly shivered. Suddenly, the feeling of the rain pelting down on her skin ceased to exist, yet she could still hear it. The redhead glanced up to find a clear, plastic umbrella hovering above her. She watched the drops of water putter and run off the plastic. Under normal circumstances, Grelle would have found the sound of the tiny impacts soothing.

"Need an umbrella, love?" asked a man standing next to her.

Grelle looked up at him, her cheeks heating as she took in his appearance. If she could have, she would have let out a whistle. The handsome stranger was dressed in a black, three-piece suit completed with a tie and polished dress shoes. His shoulder-length hair was a silky shade of silver; his pallor pale. Bright, playful green eyes sparkling with amusement gazed down at her and a charming smile spread across his lips.

 _Sorry, Ronald and Mey-Rin_.

* * *

 **A/N** : For more Grell and Undertaker, go to Archive under the username hellosweetie17!


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